The Roundtable for Product Social Metrics

Product Social Impact Assessment helps companies to identify the social impacts throughout the life cycle of a product or service. The method supports the identification of social hotspots and improvement opportunities, including risks in supply chains, production, use phase and end of life. The method also allows companies to identify both the negative and the positive impacts, which is the basis for strengthening the positive impacts and better managing the negative impacts. In this way, Product Social Impact Assessment can be a business driver and a source of inspiration for product innovation.

Mission

Be the leading, cross-sector initiative to give guidance on how to measure social impacts of products and services, in a way that is recognized for its high quality, credibility and business viability. The purpose is to improve the lives of workers, users and local communities by better insights that enables more balanced decision making.

Principles

Methodology is in alignment with best in class and up-to-date standards to measure social impacts

Methodology aims to create “shared value” for all involved stakeholders, creating economic value and value for society, taking into account the needs of all stakeholders.

Methodology is further developed by practicing and exchanging experiences

Applications

Reporting the impact of company’s activities in the area’s of the relevant SDG’s

Roundtable Phases

We are currently in the third phase of the Roundtable. As of 2016, the Roundtable will take on a new structure, and become a membership-based, stakeholder-led organisation.

Roundtable Phase 1: Harmonize methodology and develop handbook 1.0

January – August 2013The first phase of the Roundtable for Product Social Metrics started with seven companies: Ahold, BASF, BMW Group, DSM, Goodyear, Philips and RB. Roundtable Phase 1 resulted in version 1.0 of the Handbook for Product Social Impact Assessment, which included the Product Social Impact Assessment methodology and performance indicators. Version 1.0 also included principles for impact assessment, and social topics were discussed and selected. As version 1.0 was still in an early stage of development, it required additional features to improve usability the methodology. Before finalizing version 1.0, the Roundtable invited experts from external organizations to provide feedback on how the handbook could be improved.

Roundtable Phase 2: Refine handbook, share & align

October 2013 – July 2014In Phase 2, five new companies (AkzoNobel, L’Oréal, Marks & Spencer, Steelcase and a chemical company) joined the Roundtable, also providing feedback on Handbook version 1.0. Their feedback and that from external parties in Phase 1 was processed in the Phase 2 of the Roundtable for Product Social Metrics. As a result, the Roundtable:

improved the definitions of social topics and performance indicators,

included reference values and reference scales to support the assessment, and

provided guidance for communications and examples of applications

After this refinement, the handbook was tested by the participants of the Roundtable for Product Social Metrics and fine-tuned. This resulted in Handbook version 2.0, which has been made publicly available and can be downloaded here.

Roundtable Phase 3: Support implementation

December 2014-December 2015The Handbook for Product Social Impact Assessment is available for sustainability professionals in all industries to get started on product social impact assessment today. The Roundtable itself continued to work on solutions for cross-cutting implementation issues and exchanged experiences with other practitioners and experts. Phase 3 focused on business cases and practical implementation, data and database issues, refinement of the methodology, and support for communications.

Phase 4 started with a Forum on July 19th in order to interact with experts from outside the members of the Roundtable to get feedback on current Handbook and way forward. The Forum has also led to the participation of some new members in the Roundtable.

Currently the Handbook for Product Social Impact Assessment has been downloaded more than thousand times and is used as a basis for the chemical sector project of the WBCSD. Phase 4 has focussed on the addition of business cases, practical implementation, data and database issues, refinement of the methodology and accelerating acceptance. In addition the current stakeholder groups will be reviewed and small-holder farmers have been added as a fourth group.

Roundtable Phase 5: Integration with SDGs, Circular Economy

In September 2017 the Roundtable Phase 5 started; during this time the members will work in an overall update of the methodology and how to integrate the social impacts with the SDGs and the Circular Economy.

Interested industry companies who would like to participate are welcome to join the group.